


The Great Year of 2016-2017

by InsightfulInsomniac



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cute, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love, M/M, Relationship(s), Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 08:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10510011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsightfulInsomniac/pseuds/InsightfulInsomniac
Summary: The boys of Easy Hall were an interesting bunch; really, they were.Toccoa University had hosted its fair share of oddballs and outsiders, jocks and nerds, preps and punks, all of the above. But never in the history of the establishment had it held a group of boys quite like the Easy Men of 2016-2017, as they like to call themselves.******I don't know what the plotline is yet, but I'm having fun with this piece. So far, it's just the boys being boys at Toccoa University, and I'm more than happy to write them with no clear direction. There may be eventual smut, but I'm not sure (fair warning).





	

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is my first fanfic in the fandom, and I really hope I have done it justice! Enjoy! 
> 
> Ps: The whole 2016-2017 deal will be a theme.

The boys of Easy Hall were an interesting bunch; really, they were.

Toccoa University had hosted its fair share of oddballs and outsiders, jocks and nerds, preps and punks, all of the above. But never in the history of the establishment had it held a group of boys quite like the Easy Men of 2016-2017, as they like to call themselves.

The hall consists of a large group of unlikely friends, almost an unofficial fraternity. There is a hierarchy, of course, as any respectable organization has a clear, functional system.

Rather, any respectable organization under the leadership of Dick Winters has a clear, functional system.

He didn't try to become leader, he really didn't. He just kind of ended up being the one everyone looked to, and he turned out to be very happy in that position, albeit often exasperated and exhausted.

"Dick, you've got to stop. Burning holes in your laptop screen is not going to help your case," Lewis Nixon, the assumed second-in-command, comments from his bed. "You look like you haven't slept for days."

"You would know," he replies dryly, but without anger. Nix lets out a short laugh.

"Ha. You could've stopped me, y'know. I thought you valued your self-control, Mr. Morally Pure."

"I'm not morally pure," Dick grumbles half-heartedly, pausing a minute before typing furiously again.

"I would know," Nix teases, a smirk in his voice. "What's got you so wound up?"

The redhead sighs, finally turning to look at his annoyingly distracting boyfriend. "Another incident report. Liebgott again."

"No shit," Nixon deadpans, unsurprised and unfazed. "What, did he try to defend Web's honor again?"

"Sort of. Cobb just got drunk again, and you know how he gets, mouthing off and all," Dick answers, running a hand through his perfectly-combed hair. "Looks like I'll be writing up two reports yet again."

"I'll write Cobb's if you want," Lewis offers casually. "I have nothing better to do; I might actually have fun with this one."

"That'd be great, Lew. Thanks."

The brunet just answers with a quick kiss to his lips.

******

"You see, we're watching this film in my English class," Babe Heffron remarks from the couch in his thick Philly accent. "It's real old, in black and white. Girl loses her plantation, sister is having a baby, and the brother-in-law is violent."

"A Streetcar Named Desire," Web supplies from across the room, sitting up in an old armchair at the mention of the play. "Tennessee Williams."

Babe nods. "Yeah. Hey, it takes place in Louisiana, Gene! The French Quarter, too!"

Eugene Roe, lounging with his head on the armrest next to Babe, the rest of his slender body stretched across him, smiles from behind his anatomy textbook. "I'll have to take you there someday."

Babe looks as if he's about to say something, but he's quickly cut off by an eager Web. "How far are you into it?"

"What, the play?" The redhead asks, and Webster nods. "Not that far. Just got past the scene where Marlon Brando hit his wife and then she ran to their neighbor's house but then he ran after her and called her name until she came down and they walked off into the moonlight making out," he relays, almost out of breath. "I don't understand why she went back to him!"

"Because she loves him, and he needs her," Webster answers slightly wistfully. "Their relationship is volatile, but passionate."

"Sounds like two people we know," George comments teasingly from the couch across from them, a smirk forming around the cigarette in his mouth.

"You mean you and Toye?" Webster shoots back, and George laughs.

"Ha, ha. We're on a strictly friends-with-benefits basis," he winks, and Babe catches the hint of an eye roll from Roe. "Joe might be a little on the rough side, but when have I ever been mad at anyone?" Luz jokes with a smile.

"Ah, c'mon, Web. We all know Lieb is the Stanley to your Stella," Frank remarks, and when he receives a few confused stares, he raises his hands defensively. "What, I read too, ya know!"

"You guys are the worst," Web merely grumbles, turning back to his book just in time for the door to the lounge to swing open with a bang.

In strides Joseph Liebgott, holding an ice pack to his bottom lip. With all eyes on him, he stops in the center of the room. "What?"

"What the fuck did you do now, Joe?" Webster sighs exasperatedly, moving to stand. "I thought you said --"

"I know what I said, but --"

"I swear, Lieb, if it was Cobb again..." Web trails off as a look of prideful guilt flashes across Liebgott's face. "What did I tell you?"

"It doesn't fucking matter," Liebgott hisses. "He called you privileged; the fucking bastard..."

Webster licks his lips, his hands on his hips. "What I say doesn't matter?"

"Not when I'm going to beat his ass anyway!"

"Do you not care about me, or even yourself?" Webster yells, stepping closer to him, Lieb throwing the ice pack to the floor, fists clenched at his sides. "God, you're going to get kicked out on the basis of assault..."

"I was defending you, you ungrateful asshole!"

"I don't need defending!" Web yells, his face mere inches away from Lieb's. "All I need is my boyfriend back to me in one piece!"

"I'm fine," Liebgott growls, some of the anger fading from his eyes. "Just -- leave me alone."

And with that, he's off to his dorm, the faint sound of a door slamming echoing down the hallway.

Web flops back down into his chair, his head falling back, eyes closed.

"He'll come back," George says softly to Webster. "He's just going to cool down."

"I know," Web murmurs. "He always does."

"See, what did I tell ya!" Frank comments loudly, and Web opens his eyes just to glare at him. "What, wrong time?"

******

Liebgott does, in fact, return within the hour, mumbling an apology in Webster's ear as he moves to stand next to the armchair Web had staked claim to for the evening. Web just runs his thumb gently over the swollen right side of his boyfriend's bottom lip, saying something about needing a fresh ice pack.

"Aye, fellas!" Bill Guarnere calls, earning a scattered chorus of greetings from the group as he enters the lounge, Joe Toye following close behind. "What's everyone doing in on such a fine Friday night?"

"Exam on Monday," Roe answers, and Babe motions to him, looking up at his best friend. "That means I'm stuck."

"I'm just following Perco," George remarks, nodding towards the shorter man sitting next to him. "He said he really wants to see this movie that's on, but I've already seen it thirteen times."

"Well I haven't, so shove over," Toye commands, squeezing himself between George and the arm of the couch. "Pass me the smoke."

George does so willingly, taking it back once Joe takes a long drag from it, sighing deeply. Bill glances over at Web and Lieb, Web's nose buried in the same book he's had all night, Lieb leaning on the chair he is curled up in.

"Hey Liebgott, what happened to you? Web bite too hard or something?" He smirks, earning a blush from Webster and a surprisingly calm flip of the bird from Joe.

"Fuck off."

"He got into a fight with Cobb," Babe supplies, letting Lieb's glare burn into the back of his head. "Nothing out of the norm."

Bill shrugs. "Eh. Anyway, I was tryn'a find some guys to go out to Currahee tonight, anyone wanna come?"

Currahee is the local bar that is a frequent stop for the men of Easy Hall, their usual Friday nights consisting of getting drunk and getting laid, to put it plainly.

"Just came from there," Liebgott remarks sharply, and Bill takes the group's silence as a resounding no.

"Sorry, Gonorrhea," Luz smiles from the couch. "Just got comfortable."

Bill sighs. "I guess that means you're not comin' either, aye Toye?"

He raises his eyebrows with a nod to the communal fridge across the room. "Grab a beer. Currahee won't miss us that much."

"What's this?" 

Nix pauses in the doorway of the lounge, papers in one hand, flask in the other. "I thought you guys would be out at Currahee by now. Harry and Ron drug Lip out an hour ago."

"Are you sure Harry didn't drag Speirs and Lip out?" George jokes, and Nix chuckles.

"That's probably how it went. Hey, Lieb --"

Seeing the smaller man's heated glare, Nix bites back some choice words, instead opting for a more Winters-like response.

"Just try to stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Sure, Mom," he snarks through gritted teeth, earning a light slap on the arm from Webster and a short laugh from Nixon.

"Hey, that's for Lip only."

*******

Carwood Lipton sits at the bar, nursing the same beer Harry ordered for him over an hour ago. He's not one for drinking in excess, or really at all.

But somehow, Harry had managed to go and get Ron drunk -- not just tipsy -- but drunk. Drunk to the point that there is a flush flooding Speirs' cheeks and neck, which, while Lip would never admit it, is rather cute. 

"Y'okay, Car?" Ron slurs, sliding onto the stool next to where he is sitting. "You don't look like you're having fun."

He chuckles, shaking his head. Ron only calls him "Car" when he is drunk, which, in his defense, is not very often. "I'm fine, Ron."

"Good, 'cause I'm gonna order another drink," he raises hand to signal the bartender, but Lip gently pulls his hand back down. "What d'ya do that for?"

"I think you've had enough to drink," he replies softly, biting back a laugh at the pout that Ron gives him in return, a look that is so un-Speirs.

"But baaaaaaaby," he whines, his hand drifting around Lip's waist. "It's only..." he pauses to look down at his watch, only to realize he's not wearing one. "...what time is it?"

"It's time to go, Ron," he instructs firmly, scanning the room for Harry, flagging him down once he spots him chatting to Buck Compton, another student from Easy Hall.

"Help me with him," Carwood mutters, standing up and slinging one of Speirs' arms over his shoulder, Harry doing the same.

"Why are we going, Car? I was having so much fun." Ron questions, planting a sloppy kiss right below the shorter man's ear. "Are you taking me home?"

"Not in the way you're thinking of," he responds as Speirs drags his lips down his jawline, nipping slightly at the skin of his neck.

With Ron distracting himself with his boyfriend's face, it becomes much harder for him to walk, let alone for Harry and Lip to support him. Harry slaps his the side of Speirs' face a few times, turning his attention away from Carwood.

"Hey, lover boy, save it for your room."

The walk back to campus and Easy Hall is not long, but it's difficult when you're practically carrying a fully grown, rather muscular man. By the time Harry swipes his keycard at the door, Lip's seriously wishing they had called a cab.

"C'mon, Ron. Up the stairs," he coaches, earning a muffled, unintelligible reply from Speirs, whose face is buried in his neck.

By some sort of miracle, they make it to the second floor, stumbling down the hallway, past the open door of the lounge.

"Was that Speirs... drunk?" Malarkey inquires incredulously, having joined the rest of the boys, along with Skip Muck and Alex Penkala, just ten minutes prior.

"Looks like it," Bill replies nonchalantly, tossing back the last of his beer. "Mama Lip'll take care of him."

Liebgott snorts. "He'll do more than take care of him."

"Quiet, Liebling," Web mumbles sleepily, his eyes fluttering closed before he forces them open again. In an unusually public display of affection, Joe, who had since moved to share the chair with Webster, almost cradling him in his lap, strokes his hair back from forehead, offering him a small smile.

"Is he asleep already?" Perconte asks, and Joe rolls his eyes. 

"Yes, he's an old man. He reads poetry while having tea in the afternoon, eats supper at four, and falls asleep the moment it gets dark outside."

"I heard that," Web murmurs, not opening his eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Hey boys, I'm gonna call it a night," Dick leans against the doorway of the lounge, stifling a yawn.

"We thought you hit the hay three hours ago," Luz jokes, and Dick chuckles.

"I was just finishing up some work, but now I'm actually going to go to sleep. You guys should too..." he glances from Web to Babe, whose head is tilting backwards, resting on the top of the couch, his mouth wide open as he takes deep breaths. "...and I see some of you already have."

"Aw, come on! It's only one in the morning," Muck protests. "And it's Friday."

Dick sighs exasperatedly. "If you need anything, go to Lip. I'm sure he --" 

"Just put Speirs to bed," Nix interjects, putting a hand on the tired redhead's shoulder. "If you need anything, wake up Harry. I'm sure he'll be pissed."

"You got it, boss," Bill replies, mock saluting him. 

He grins, saluting him back, before pushing Dick in the direction of their dorm room.

"Joe? Mind if I pass out here?" George looks up at Toye, his head leaning on his shoulder. Joe shrugs. " 'S long as you don't drool."

"You don't have to worry about me; Frankie's the one who drools," he smirks, and Perconte looks up at him from his seat on the floor. "Hey!"

"This is turning into a slumber party," Malarkey comments, stretching his arms above his head. "And I'm not mad about it."

"I'm just too tired to go make the walk back to my dorm," Liebgott remarks, earning a snort from Skip.

"You're just too cool to admit that you want to participate in the Great Slumber Party of 2016-2017."

"Well, when you have five siblings, every day's a slumber party," he retorts, and Skip shuts his mouth quickly. 

"Besides," Joe continues, his features softening. "I don't think I could carry Web back to our dorm."

"Just out of curiosity," Bill pipes up. "How the hell has the university not gotten wise to the fact that they're letting couples share dorm rooms? They're practically giving you a free pass to fuck."

"Don't hate just 'cause you're straight," Lieb grins, and Bill rolls his eyes.

"I'm just sayin', with Sobel as Easy's inspector, it's hard to believe the man hasn't figured it out yet."

"Jesus Christ, he said he doesn't drool, but he fuckin' snores!" Toye complains, glowering over at George's sleeping form, who snores softly in his ear. 

"Penk talks in his sleep," Malarkey comments with a sly grin over at his friend. He, Penkala, and Muck always volunteer to take one of the dreaded triple rooms, a situation that certainly doesn't conjure up any feelings of dread in the three of them. "We get some good gossip out of him."

"Like what?" Perconte asks curiously, and Malarkey shakes his head. "Bro code, man. But I can tell you that Muck here has dreamed of sweet Faye Tanner more than once."

"Hey!" Skip protests. "Bro code!"

"Dude, everyone already knows," Penkala remarks, and he sighs.

"Whatever. At least my fantasies are only being heard by my roommates. As for you, Toye..."

"Fuck off."

Knowing that Joe has brass knuckles in his dorm just down the hallway, Skip wisely does just that.

"C'mon, Joe. You've got to live up to the responsibility of the Great Ab Massage of 2013-2014," Bill teases, unafraid of his buddy and his brass knuckles. "I don't know how the hell you convinced Sobel that Georgie was just giving you an ab massage half-naked."

"Luz did most of the sweet-talking," he admits gruffly. "I just kinda laid there."

"That's probably what you would've done had Sobel not been doing a surprise inspection," Liebgott laughs, and Joe scowls over at him. "You're one to talk."

"Hey, I'll have you know, I'm a very active participant --"

"Will you all just shut up?" Roe sighs from behind a different medical textbook. "I'm tryn'a study."

"What, does talking about sex make the doctor uncomfortable?" Perconte teases, and Eugene just presses his lips in a thin line, the ghost of a smile drifting across his face.

"I'm not a doctor yet, but if you'd like to use the proper terminology, I'd be more than happy to discuss sexual intercourse with you. Maybe educate you on all of the STIs, that's right up your alley, Gonorrhea..." He finally grins, shutting his textbook and laying it on his chest.

"The Doc has jokes after all!" Malarkey cheers, and Roe just shakes his head amusedly.

"You gettin' tired, Lieb?" Skip asks, a smirk evident in his voice.

"Hell no. I'm determined to be the last one awake out of you assholes," he replies, refusing to admit that he had been dozing off, the warmth of Webster's body more comforting than any blanket.

"I think he just likes watching Webster sleep," Toye comments, chuckling as Joe offers him a weak scowl.

"I can tell you what he's thinking," Skip taunts, ignoring the pen that Liebgott chucks at him, letting it bounce harmlessly off his shoulder. "Oh, doesn't Web look so pretty? His eyelashes are so long, his jawline is so perfect, and oh God, his lips are just begging to be kissed, or better yet --"

"What the hell did I just walk into?" Lip comments groggily. "I didn't know you were having fantasies about Web, Skip."

"Nah, even if I did, I wouldn't have voiced them in the presence of Web's keeper," he jerks a thumb over at Liebgott, who just smirks.

"What'cha doin' up, Lip?" Bill asks. "I thought you were taking care of ol' Sparky."

"I am," he groans. "You would think he would pass out like a normal person, but no. He is the strangest mix of talkative and brooding I have ever encountered. He's also cranky, and is really craving some flaming hot cheetos."

"You're such a good mother hen," Perconte remarks, and Lip rolls his eyes. "I'd pay anything to see Spooky Speirs talkative."

"Be my guest," Lip offers, only half joking. "I'm exhausted, and all he wants to do is tell me all about these Latin poems he's studying."

"Should I wake Web up to keep him company?" Lieb asks, also only half joking.

"No, no. I just --" he yawns and runs a hand through his already tousled hair. "I just need to punch Harry the next time I see him."

"You can borrow my brass knuckles," Joe offers, and Lip shakes his head amusedly.

"No, that won't be necessary. Goodnight, boys."

"G'night, Ma," Skip calls after him, knowing that Lip is hiding a smile behind his turned back.

"I'm goin' to bed," Roe mutters before sitting up on the couch, placing his textbook on top of the other two he brought along, forming a small pile on the coffee table. He then gently shakes Babe's arm, murmuring brief instructions in his ear as he barely wakes up. 

And apparently Babe follows Doc's instructions, as Eugene happily settles down next to him, on his side, his face buried in the other man's chest as Babe languidly wraps his right arm around Roe's back before going back to sleep.

Malarkey sighs. "I guess the Great Slumber Party of 2016-2017 has come to an end."

A tired chorus of "Mh hms," confirms his fears, and even Liebgott and his determination have given in to exhaustion, his head lolling from side as he tries desperately to stay awake.

"Hey Toye, I told you I'd fall asleep first," Bill mumbles, drifting off to sleep as Toye only chuckles sleepily.

It's quite the picture in the morning when Dick, always the earliest riser, walks into the lounge to see a dozen sleeping college boys passed out, vulnerable and at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked it! I know I loved writing Speirs drunk and the boys bantering with each other. There will be more on how the boys themselves got wise to the fact that there were couples sharing dorm rooms... and there will be more on the Great Ab Massage of 2013-2014. If you want a separate fic of that, let me know!
> 
> Also, I do take requests. My email for requests is hermionejean2000@gmail.com
> 
> Also, I'm not just in the Band of Brothers fandom, so ask away on a variety of others!


End file.
